Appellate Procedures for the Board of Immigration Appeals
This interim final rule ("IFR") amends Department of Justice ("Department" or "DOJ") regulations to streamline administrative appellate review by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("Board" or "BIA") of decisions by Immigration Judges by making review of such decisions on the merits discretionary, by setting appropriate times for briefing in cases that are reviewed on the merits, and by streamlining other aspects of the appellate process to ensure timely adjudications and avoid adding to the already sizeable backlog at the Board. Additionally, the Department is making various technical and non- substantive changes to its regulations.
What this item does
The short version, using the agency's own summary text.
This interim final rule ("IFR") amends Department of Justice ("Department" or "DOJ") regulations to streamline administrative appellate review by the Board of Immigration Appeals ("Board" or "BIA") of decisions by Immigration Judges by making review of such decisions on the merits discretionary, by setting appropriate times for briefing in cases that are reviewed on the merits, and by streamlining other aspects of the appellate process to ensure timely adjudications and avoid adding to the already sizeable backlog at the Board. Additionally, the Department is making various technical and non- substantive changes to its regulations.
Interim final rule; request for comments.
Important dates
The dates that matter most for this item.
Published
February 6, 2026
Starts
March 9, 2026
Who published it
The agencies listed in the official filing.
Federal rulebook sections mentioned
These are the parts of the Code of Federal Regulations cited in the filing.